Balata: Medical Workers Under Attack

>From early morning until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday Balata
refugee cap was held under seige by the Israeli Occupation
Forces. Jeeps and hummers stationed at the entrances to the
camps shot rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition at
groups of children in the streets. A mosque filled with
men, women and children at prayer was gassed with a
particularly strong version of tear gas, causing many
people to require hospitalization. Throughout the day 16
people were shot, including one international activist and
three medical volunteers.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. two
bursts of live ammunition were shot into the streets. The
shots came from an occupied house at the edge of the camp
and a jeep stationed near the entrance. Four people were
shot initially. An ambulance and medical workers on foot
approached the scene to provide medical care to the
civilians. Immediately three medical workers were shot.
They were clearly visible in the middle of the street as
medical workers and were targetted directly.

After loading
the seven injured into the ambulance the driver attempted
to transport the injured to the hospital. The jeep and
another hummer raced to the ambulance, blocking the driver
from moving in any direction. Soldiers threatened the
drivers, shooting and screaming through a megaphone.
Internationals stood between the jeeps and the ambulance to
provide protection. For five minutes the ambulance
attempted to leave the scene, each time blocked by
soldiers.

The driver was eventually able to move down the
street towards the hospital. As it drove away a hummer
chased it down the street. The hummer attempted to run the
ambulance off of the road, eventually crashing into the side
of the ambulance. After the crash the driver stopped the
ambulance and soldiers forcefully pulled the medical workers
out of the ambulance and threw them up against a concrete
wall. The soldiers threatened the workers, pointing guns in
their faces and confiscating the Palestinian's
I.D.'s.

Attacking medical workers is illegal by
international law as clearly stated in the 4th Geneva
Convention. Three medical volunteers were shot: a sixteen
year-old woman was shot in the leg with live ammunition,
causing a fracture in her ankle; a 33 year-old man was also
shot in the leg, causing permanent damage to the muscles in
his thigh; and a 17 year- old woman volunteer was shot
through the hand. All are still in the hospital at the time
of writing.

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